New Fortis unit making resorbable implants
By Roger Renstrom
PLASTICS NEWS CORRESPONDENT
CONSTANTINE, MICH. (Nov. 7, 1:45 p.m. EST) — Fortis Plastics Group has formed a unit to process resorbable polymers for implantable medical devices.
The new Fortis Resorbable Group in Constantine plastic molds specially engineered polymers on a 17-ton press. Resorbable material is useful as bone, muscle or tissue heals and, eventually, no longer needs an implant’s support. A resorbable component can replace or supplement implants made with inert metals or ceramics.
Director James Sertic said the growing new unit combines technical expertise in molding inherently high-viscosity materials, an understanding of resorbable product designs and knowledge about developing medical components.
He said the medical industry is accepting the move to plastic implants that decompose over time into carbon dioxide and water via hydrolysis. Industrial Physicist magazine’s October-November issue reported that more than 40 medical devices now use biodegradable polymers.
Product lines include a machinable, 3-inch-long rod with a diameter of 0.38 inch and a 2½-inch-long tensile bar. Typically, medical device manufacturers machine their own rods.
The Plastic Mold company several medical-grade parts including screws, tacks, pins, and anchors. Materials include polymers, copolymers, and terpolymers of poly (L-lactide), poly (DL-lactide) and polyglycolide.
Earlier, Sertic referred to the line as Engineered Polymers for Implantable Components, but Fortis adopted the resorbable name to reinforce the business’s products and purpose.
SciTech Plastics of Kansas City, Mo., and Brookfield Group Inc. of West Brookfield, Mass., merged Aug. 16 to form a business with sales of about $65 million. Eight sites in Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, and Texas provide integrated design, engineering, rapid prototyping, tooling, molding and assembly services.